National Republican., 1887-01-25
Tho Shin Hallway.

EDITOR NATIONAL REPUBLICAN: In an cdr
torial published on Friday last you assert that
recently / published an article in the Balti-
more Sun which 1 knew, or should have
known, to be untrue. | emphatlcally deny
That at any time l have published anything
that was not fully convinced was true, or that
] do not now believe to be true. If there is n
large owner in the White star line who is de-
sirous to open transit for those vessels, or
other vessels that he may own, across Tehuan.
tepec by the Eads ship railway am quite sure
he will not find an opponent In me TO his adj
ideas e haze heard Of sbns ,hs gem gem
was desrous of sending them by railway across
theisthmus, and ifyou will kindly publish list
OF them, as also of the vessels owned by them,
and the tonnage of each. you will confer
favor on me, and doubtless many others. /
wish to add that, under the circumstances, this
list Is due the public, and would like oknow
Whether any insurance company has expressed
a willingness to insure vessels from New York
TO san Francisco. via the Tehuantepec ship
railway.
As regards your idea that will become
Ridiculous by averring my disbelief in the
ship railway, If considered as a commercial
question, beg leave to state that have never
made pretensions to being an engineer, but
have had sufficient experience TO enable me to
consider the wide difference between theo-
reticAl possibilities and commercial certain.
ties. / have letter from John Bourne. OF
London, whose name is too weil known rs 40
engineer TO admit of question, in which he
utterly discrcdits the Eads ship railway. This
lCllpT is now III lne nnOuS OF uhtlnEulSucC
seuator, and will be made public ere long l
have alreadypublished letters from the late
Col. John G.. Stevens, late president oftho New
Jersey Railroad and Caunl Company, hnd also
Of the late civil engineer W. W. Evans, who
had spent fifty years OF his life In making rail
roads and bridges. Think the ideas of these
gentlemen quite sufficient to spare me from
ridicule, and if not, am quite willing to bear
It, II there is n single builder of merchant
vessels of large size IN this country willing to
say that he has ever built a vessel of 1000 tons
displacement, which, in his belief would be
capable of passing and rcpassing over the
Eads ship railway, laden with the Ordinary
cargo, ] wish that shipbuilder to boldly avow
his claim.
But, after all, the matter is easily settled so
for as words are concerned. Let Capt. Eds get
modification of his concession so as to per.
| nit him, without let or hndrance, or the fur
| ther permission of the Mexican congress, to
| carry over our munitions and troops and our
vessels of war / trust Congress will then grant
| him anact of incorporation in the sam terms
| that one should be granted the Nicaragua
canal, and would say t1 any members of Con-
| gress who may have confidence in my opinion,
| II you have the belief that this railway would
| greatly benefit our traffic, agree TO a bonus to
| be raid by our government, equal to the
amount of toll paid, for all vessels of 100 tons
| or upwards, under our flag, carrying cargoss.
And yet am a supposed enemy to the Eads
| ship railway. DASiEL ANMEE.
| WASHINGTON, Jan. a. 1887.